Yeah, but he didn’t mean it

John Key delivered just a solitary written apology in 2014, ironically to one of New Zealand’s most controversial political figures.

According to Key “to the best of my recollection”, the prime minister wrote just one letter of apology this year, parliamentary questions asked by the Labour Party show.

Perhaps ironically, that single apology was delivered to Cameron Slater, the WhaleOil blogger who largely supports National but has brought much controversy upon the Government.

Key wrote a letter of apology to Slater earlier this year in relation to the Government’s decision to release an email Slater wrote to associates claiming that former justice minister Judith Collins was part of a campaign to undermine former Serious Fraud Office boss Adam Feeley.

In November Key was forced to admit he had misled Parliament after he claimed he had not contacted Slater about a report into the SIS, after texts emerged showing the two discussing the report.

Labour leader Andrew Little said it was ironic that Key had apologised to Slater, when he had not apologised for what Labour claims was a “smear campaign” run out of his office which used Slater to attack opponents. Little also said Key should have considered an apology over Iain Rennie’s handling of an investigation into former Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority chief executive Roger Sutton over claims of sexual harassment.

“He’s quite comfortable apologising to someone like [Slater] even though you’d have to wonder about the level of hurt or harm caused to Cameron Slater,” Little said.

Key’s office declined to comment beyond confirming the sole apology of 2014 was to Slater.

Everyone’s been wondering what it is that Cam Slater has over John Key to enforce such compliance. Through incompetence or willful ignorance, nobody’s actually reported the real reason. Unless John Key appologised in writing, the Privacy Commission had no choice but to take John Key to court for a breach of the Privacy Act.

Or, Slater has something huge on Key. Yeah, that’s it.

– Pete, Hamish Rutherford, The Dominion Post

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